Latest news with #TwitterKiller
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Police burst into man's home and discover nine severed heads in boxes
Warning: distressing content. A serial killer lured his vulnerable victims, including teenagers, to his apartment where he raped them before cutting up their bodies and storing them in coolers Police made a gruesome discovery after raiding a man's apartment where they came across the body parts of nine murdered people which had been stored in cooler boxes. They were tipped off by the brother of one of the victims who had alerted them after he found messages between the monster and his sister on social media. As well as eight female victims, the body of a male was also found. Authorities said cat litter had been used to mask the smell of the human remains which were stashed around Takahiro Shiraishi's home in Japan. It comes after an evil dad kills daughter, 5, for wetting herself and carries body parts around for months. The twisted murderer was arrested in 2017 at the apartment in Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki said he had targeted "mentally fragile" women on Twitter, now known as X, who had expressed suicidal thoughts on the platform. This led to him being dubbed the Twitter Killer. He sickeningly offered to assist them with their wish to die and lured them to his apartment which was around 20 miles outside Tokyo. He then beat, strangled, killed, robbed, and mutilated them. Shiraishi also sexually abused his victims, three of whom were teenagers, aged between 15 and 26. One was the boyfriend of one of the slain girls, who he killed to silence and prevent authorities discovering his sick plot. He admitted murdering all nine victims and was sentenced to death in 2020. Jusice Minister Suzuki said he agreed to the execution 'after careful consideration' because the heinous crimes were committed to satisfy Shiraishi's "sexual and financial desires". In March 2025 Shiraishi, 34, was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House in what was Japan's first execution since 2022. News of the event wasn't released until afterwards. Prisoners are given just a few hours to no warning beforehand, while their families have none. Japan and the US are the only countries in the G7 that still use the death penalty and the decision to execute Shiraishi was condemned by the European Union.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Yahoo
WTF Facts From This Week That Sent Me Spiraling Into The Void
Hello! I'm Crystal, and I write the That Got Dark newsletter, BuzzFeed's weekly roundup of all things creepy, macabre, and horrible AF. And if you looooove this kind of content, you should subscribe to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Here's what the newsletter is covering this week: extremely graphic story of Japan's 'Twitter Killer.' Related: In June 2025, a serial killer in Japan named Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the "Twitter Killer," was executed by hanging — Japan's first execution since 2022. Shiraishi had been convicted of murdering and dismembering nine people (eight of them women or teenage girls) in 2020. Back in 2017, Shiraishi would use Twitter (now called X) to lure his victims to his apartment. He specifically targeted users who posted about having suicidal thoughts and would tell them that he could 'help them in their plans.' However, once his victims arrived, Shiraishi sexually assaulted, strangled, and then murdered them. He even dismembered their bodies. Later, authorities would find cooler boxes containing human heads and bones 'with the flesh scraped off.' Shiraishi went on to plead guilty to murdering the victims, saying in court that he had 'killed them to satisfy his own sexual desires.' creepy experience one of our BuzzFeed Community members had in Monticello, Mississippi — a seemingly quiet southern town. "Dated a girl from there, and aside from the inbreeding that went on, the whole town seemed 'too happy.' I can't describe it. False cheeriness, like the townspeople had something to hide. It felt very surreal. Years later, I learned it was near where they had the Valley of the Kings cult, where the leader and his son were sexually abusing minor-age members of the congregation." —Anonymous Related: The Valley of the Kings Church was a small religious group led by a man named David Earl King. He ran the group from a large compound with homes, a church, and a farm. King had total control over everything, and people who lived there — especially women and children — were often mistreated, with people describing it as cult-like. In 2001, King and his adopted son were arrested and later convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy, who attended their church and school, and other serious crimes. King died in prison in 2017, and the "church" no longer exists. (possible) existence of a medieval torture device called a breast ripper. The breast ripper was supposedly used to punish women, especially those accused of things like cheating or having an abortion. It had sharp claws, sometimes heated, that would be clamped onto a woman's breast and then pulled or twisted — just as the name implies. Apparently, there were even versions that attached to a wall where the woman would be pulled away from it instead. Now, there's not a ton of proof that this device was really ever used, but if it was…yikes. Related: violent and shocking murder of actor Sharon Tate (and her unborn child), along with four others on Aug. 9, 1969. On the night of Aug. 8–9, 1969, Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant, was killed by members of the Manson Family cult at her Los Angeles home. Under the direction of Charles Manson, four of his followers — Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian (who served as a lookout) — broke into Tate's home and killed her along with four others: Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent. The murders were carried out in a frenzy of extreme violence, with the victims being either shot, stabbed (multiple times), or even bludgeoned to death. Tate, who was brutally stabbed and strangled to death, reportedly pleaded for the life of her unborn child before she died. Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Watson (the three who actually committed the murders) were all sentenced to death. Atkins died in prison in 2009, Krenwinkel was recommended for parole in May 2025, and Watson will be eligible for a parole hearing in October 2026. Patricia Krenwinkle (left) and Susan Atkins (right), with another Manson family member, Leslie Van Houten (in the middle). the case of Bobby Joe Long, aka the "Classified Ad Rapist," who killed at least 10 women in Florida in the '80s. Related: Long was a serial rapist and murderer who terrorized Florida's Tampa Bay area in 1984, killing at least 10 women after previously assaulting dozens. He would target his victims after finding them through personal ads in Florida, thus being called the "Classified Ad Rapist." Long's crime spree ended when 17-year-old Lisa McVey, whom he abducted and later released, provided crucial information that led to his arrest. Convicted of multiple crimes, Long was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in 2019. His last meal: Roast beef, bacon, French fries, and soda. That just about does it for the week in scariness! In the next issue, we're gonna talk alllllllll about missing people, even children. Until then, stay safe, keep the lights on, and I'll see you for another horrifying trip down the rabbit hole… Love this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get a weekly post just like this delivered directly to your inbox. It's a scary good time you won't want to miss. Do you have a weird, creepy, or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there's a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@ and who knows, maybe it'll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark! Dial 988 in the United States to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential. Other international suicide helplines can be found at The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386. If you are concerned that a child is experiencing or may be in danger of abuse, you can call or text the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 ( service can be provided in over 140 languages. Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed:
Khaleej Times
29-06-2025
- Khaleej Times
'Twitter killer' sentenced to death in Japan for butchering 9 people
A Japanese man dubbed the 'Twitter killer' was sentenced to death by a Tokyo court Tuesday for murdering and dismembering nine people he met on the social media platform. Takahiro Shiraishi, 30, admitted killing and butchering his young victims, all but one of whom were women. His lawyers had argued he should receive a prison sentence rather than be executed because his victims, aged between 15 and 26, expressed suicidal thoughts on social media and so had consented to die. But a judge dismissed that argument and handed down the death penalty over the 2017 crimes, which he called 'cunning and cruel,' public broadcaster NHK said. 'None of the nine victims consented to be killed, including silent consent,' NHK quoted the judge as saying. 'It is extremely grave that the lives of nine young people were taken away. The dignity of the victims was trampled upon.' The judge added that the case, which prompted calls for tighter control on social networks, 'provoked great anxiety in society, because social networks are so commonly used.' The grisly murders attracted international attention, and the case has been followed closely in Japan, with 435 people reportedly turning up to secure one of 16 available public seats. When asked if the verdict was audible, Shiraishi, wearing a white mask, stood still and only said: 'I understood.' Family members of the victims have spoken emotionally of their continued pain over the case, with the brother of a 25-year-old woman killed by Shiraishi saying his 'heart died' when he heard the murderer's testimony. 'It didn't sound at all like he regretted it... It felt like I was being hurt with a sharp knife over and over again.' The woman's father said in court last month he 'will never forgive Shiraishi even if he dies', local media reported at the time. 'Even now, when I see a woman of my daughter's age, I mistake her for my daughter. This pain will never go away. Give her back to me!' he said. Shiraishi targeted his victims on Twitter, contacting users who posted about taking their own lives and telling them he could help them in their plans - or even die alongside them. He was detained three years ago by police investigating the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who had reportedly tweeted about wanting to kill herself. After she went missing, her brother gained access to her Twitter account, and noticed a suspicious handle, eventually leading them to Shiraishi's residence, where they uncovered a house of horrors on the morning of Halloween in 2017. Nine dismembered bodies - with as many as 240 bone parts stashed in coolers and toolboxes - had been sprinkled with cat litter in a bid to hide the evidence. Shiraishi has admitted the crimes, telling the court last month: 'I'm ready to admit my guilt and incur the punishment without appealing to a high court.' It was not immediately clear if he would stick with the decision to forgo an appeal of the sentence. Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty, with more than 100 inmates on death row, and support for it remains high. But years usually pass between sentencing and execution, with the last in December 2019, when a Chinese man was hanged for the murder of a family of four. Shiraishi's crime reignited debate in Japan about suicide and help for those considering it. Japan has the highest suicide rate among the Group of Seven industrialised nations, with more than 20,000 people taking their lives annually. Numbers have fallen since a peak in 2003, but there have been signs that suicide rates are rising again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Yahoo
Japan hangs 'Twitter killer' in first execution since 2022
STORY: :: June 27, 2025 :: Japan carries out its first execution since 2022, hanging a man who was dubbed the 'Twitter killer' :: Kyodo/via REUTERS :: Takahiro Shiraishi strangled and dismembered nine people whom he met on social media in his apartment :: Tokyo, Japan :: Keisuke Suzuki, Japanese Justice Minister "Today the execution of Takahiro Shiraishi was carried out." "This case caused great shock and discomfort to the public, with the loss of nine victims and precious human lives in a span of two months for the extremely selfish reasons of satisfying his own sexual and financial desires." "In the light of the given facts, I, as Minister of Justice, after careful consideration, ordered the execution to be carried out." Takahiro Shiraishi had been sentenced to death for his 2017 strangling and dismembering of eight women and one man in his apartment in Zama city in Kanagawa near Tokyo. He was dubbed the "Twitter killer" as he contacted victims via the social media platform. Friday's execution is the first since the July 2022 hanging of a man who went on a stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district in 2008, killing seven people.
News18
29-06-2025
- News18
Who Is Takahiro Shiraishi And Why Is He Known As The ‘Twitter Killer'
Last Updated: Takahiro Shiraishi had been convicted of murdering and dismembering nine people after luring them through social media. Japan has carried out its first execution in three years by hanging Takahiro Shiraishi, a man infamously known as the 'Twitter Killer.' Shiraishi, 34, had been convicted of murdering and dismembering nine people in 2017 after luring them through social media. The execution marked Japan's first use of the death penalty since 2022. According to news agency AFP, the killings mainly targeted young women, many of whom had posted suicidal thoughts online. Shiraishi pleaded guilty to all charges and had been on death row since December 2020. Who Was Takahiro Shiraishi? Shiraishi lived in Zama, a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, just outside Tokyo. He was arrested in October 2017 after the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman caught police attention. The woman had posted suicidal thoughts on X (formerly Twitter). Her brother accessed her account and helped guide police to Shiraishi's apartment. Once police arrived at his home, they found dismembered body parts belonging to nine people. These remains were stored in coolers and toolboxes with cat litter used in an attempt to cover the smell. Why Was He Called The 'Twitter Killer'? Shiraishi was dubbed the 'Twitter Killer' because he used the platform to connect with vulnerable individuals who usually expressed suicidal thoughts. Using the handle 'hangman," he approached these individuals with promises to assist them in ending their lives. But instead of offering help, he murdered them upon their arrival at his apartment. According to BBC, his Twitter profile contained the words: 'I want to help people who are really in pain. Please DM [direct message] me anytime." He targeted eight women including three teenage girls and one man. As reported by Associated Press, Shiraishi raped the women before killing them and murdered the lone male victim, who was the boyfriend of one of the women, to silence him. His lawyers argued that Shiraishi should receive a prison sentence rather than be executed because the victims expressed suicidal thoughts and so had consented to die. But the court rejected this defense, calling his actions 'cunning and cruel," reports said at the time. The judge said that 'the dignity of the victims was trampled upon" and noted that Shiraishi had targeted people who were 'mentally fragile." Legal Outcome Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki confirmed that Shiraishi's crimes included 'robbery, rape, murder … destruction of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse." 'Nine victims were beaten and strangled, killed, robbed, and then mutilated with parts of their bodies concealed in boxes, and parts discarded in a garbage dump," Suzuki told reporters in Tokyo. In December 2020, Shiraishi was found guilty of the charges and was sentenced to death. Although his lawyer initially filed an appeal to the Tokyo High Court, the appeal was later withdrawn. As a result, the sentence became final, according to NHK. First Published:
